"Greying" up the Greyhawk Gods

[LostSoul]

Saint Cuthbert would fit right in on such a world. His priests would be ruthless vigilantes a la Batman.

Kord could promote social Darwinism, where only the strong survive. His priests could go around challenging people in power to make sure that they deserve to remain in power.

St. Cuthbert is hard core. A real fanatical basher of evil. He's the type of guy who would advise his priests to bash in the heads anyone who Detected as Evil.

Kord might demand a show of strength before they give you any healing. You want a Cure Disease? Sit in the sweat-box for three days without any food or water. Then when you come out, we whip you forty times. If you fail, you'll be dead.

 

[Remathilis]

Herionious: Intollerant, usually forcing those who do not live up to "thier" standards into horrible punishments, many are ostricized and inquistions are common.

Moradin: Ruthless, dogmantic adherance to tradition, bordering on Xenophobic and oppressive.

Yondalla: Watch out for number one. You must make sure YOU are confortable, then you give to your family. There is no free-ride, all debts are collected and paid in full.

Garl Glittergold: Prove your innate supremacy though jokes. To outwit your opponent through trickery or treachry is paragon to gnomehood.

 

[grodog]

Interesting discussion folks You should churn through more of these characteristics, then submit them to Canonfire! at www.canonfire.com---Greyhawk can always use more good ideas.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

I would treat Pelor a little more subtly - his clerics would be cheery, sunny optimists who never, ever acknowledge when things go wrong. Sort of like stereotypically cheerful British country folk - "Mustn't grumble", all that. Their healers would be like overly-pleasant nurses, clucking over the wounded.

Then you'd have secret midnight meetings between grim-faced priests completely unrecognisable from their smiling and happy daytime selves, setting out across the countryside to destroy undead and other foes. Getting in a Pelorian cleric's way at night would probably be scarier than running into one of Erythnul's servants in a dark alley.

 

[LostSoul]

Herionious: Intollerant, usually forcing those who do not live up to "thier" standards into horrible punishments, many are ostricized and inquistions are common.

Standard practice: "Confess your sins and we will kill you quickly." Quickly means being pressed to death with the Iron Book of Law - big iron slabs with with the side that rests on your flesh having the laws printed out on them. The writing stands out from the background, so when the victim is dead, the laws are carved into the flesh.

Then they hang the body wherever for everyone to see.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

So let's say I'm running a dark game in your basic D&D Greyhawk world, and I want to make the gods creepy. What do you think I should do to achieve that kind of mood?

Have you done away with alignment? Darker versions of the standard gods are going to have darker alignments. If you're doing away with alignment, or shifting divine beings closer to evil en-masse, then my suggestion would be to find a disturbing aspect to each god, and emphasize it. I don't think it's a good idea to stereotype each god's entire clergy, but a guiding philosophy can create for many different kinds of creepy priests that are both individual, and disturbing.

Boccob: Boccob is uncaring. His priests are, too. They won't help you with spells no matter how much gold you wave in their faces. If you give them a book, or offer some kind of knowledge, that might be different. But Boccob isn't known for holding up his end of any bargain.

Actually, the scariest version of Boccob I can think of is one that will help you...in a Twilight Zone or Outer Limits kind of way. The Monkey's Paw and all that. Litter your campaign with stories of magic gone horribly wrong, and treat the clerics in much the same way you'd treat the Alienist prestige class. Do not seek the truth of magic, lest you find it.

Corellon: Elves are crazy. So is he. He promotes xenophobia and no non-elf may set foot in his temple.

Creating a disturbing vibe is hard with the elf-god, because he's so plain, really. A racist god doesn't really creep me out. Personally, I'd consider re-working elven religious practices to include morally ambiguous, but nevertheless unsettling, practices. Cannibalism, for instance. Imagine a PC entering into an elven temple and having the priest raise his head from a gutted body on the altar, blood dribbling down his chin, and politely ask the PC to wait in the antechamber while he finishes his blessing over the dead.

Ehlonna: Tree-hugger with violent tendacies.

I'd consider most followers of Ehlonna to be tree-huggers with violent tendancies in the core game. At least, pretty much every PC druid and ranger I've ever seen.

For Ehlonna, I might consider a hive-mind diety. Imagine a cleric of Ehlonna entering a grove, and having several different animals appear in the grove, and all begin speaking with the same voice. As for the clerics, cannibalism would work with them as well. Or perhaps barbarism. I'd imagine a cleric of Ehlonna wearing a mask made from an enemy's face would creep me out plenty.

Just some ideas.

 

[Clint]

You guys are making me feel weird. I ran a Greyhawk game for two years, and this is exactly how the gods were played--forceful personalities that don't really get along and push conflicting worldviews on people.

The followers' strong belief and unpredictable interactions were great fun, and one of the cornerstones of the campaign. Especially if you have a cleric in the group who promotes one version's wacky god. For us, it was Rudd, who's happy-go-lucky and a good "control" to the rest of the more serious religions.

Good luck!

-Clint

 

[Enkhidu]

I would treat Pelor a little more subtly - his clerics would be cheery, sunny optimists who never, ever acknowledge when things go wrong. Sort of like stereotypically cheerful British country folk - "Mustn't grumble", all that. Their healers would be like overly-pleasant nurses, clucking over the wounded.

Then you'd have secret midnight meetings between grim-faced priests completely unrecognisable from their smiling and happy daytime selves, setting out across the countryside to destroy undead and other foes. Getting in a Pelorian cleric's way at night would probably be scarier than running into one of Erythnul's servants in a dark alley.

Batman was a Pelorite? Seriously, I may just use this for a sect of sun worshippers in my new campaign.

 

[LostSoul]

Have you done away with alignment? Darker versions of the standard gods are going to have darker alignments. If you're doing away with alignment, or shifting divine beings closer to evil en-masse, then my suggestion would be to find a disturbing aspect to each god, and emphasize it.

Some good ideas there. I haven't done away with alignment (in all of my campaigns), but that's a good idea. In the game with alignment, I'm just going to ignore the cleric's worship restriction. So you could have a Lawful Good Cleric worship a Chaotic Evil diety - although the Cleric wouldn't remain LG for long...

 

[Gez]

Is that greying up, or blacking up?

Because if all you do is greying up, then Erythnull, Nerull, Vecna and co. should be less evil than they are. And thus more accepted by society, their churches more present and respected...